The Motives Behind the Adaptation of Wonder Novel by R.J. Palacio into a Movie by Stephen Chbosky

Abstract

Wonder is a famous novel by R.J. Palacio, published in 2012. Tells the story of a ten year old boy with Treacher Collins syndrome who tries to be accepted by his new environment at school. In 2017 the film adaptation of the novel Wonder was released, directed by Stephen Chbosky. This study discusses the changes that occur between the original literary work and the film adaptation and the motives behind the adaptation. This study uses adaptation theory from Hutcheon (2006) and Mythology from Barthes (1972). The purpose of this study is to find the motive behind the adaptation of Wonder novel through the changes that occur and the ideology found in each literary work. This study found that there is cultural capital and personal and political motives behind its adaptation. The director tries to present patriarchy differently by adding feminism elements in the film adaptation. With American culture that is thick with patriarchy, the elements of feminism added by the director are in line with the massive feminist demo that took place in the year the film adaptation was released. The last motive that emerge in this adaptation is economic lures because the adapter adapt a very well-known novel.